Episode #174 Holistic & Regenerative Ag Techniques for Food Plotters

Published: 2023-06-18
Episode page
Duration: 85 min

In this episode

antler-production

• Don’s goal is to keep his food plots as nutrient-dense as possible so wintering bucks are in fantastic shape to grow bigger racks the next year. 31:55

barn-demolition

• Don plans to have a local excavator demolish his century-old barn next week and put up a new building in its place. 82:39
• Don plans to save some beams from the old barn’s loft so his daughter can have them cut and planed to make a kitchen table. 83:16

coyotes

• William Miller asks whether it’s true that coyotes kill more mature bucks than fawns, as a veteran hunter told him. 49:27

deer-management

• Don explains deer from the surrounding area converge on his farm every fall and spend the whole winter feeding in his food plots. 31:32

diy-surfactant

• Don suggests using a cheap two-liter bottle of pop mixed into a sprayer as a homemade surfactant substitute when none is on hand. 38:41

employee-story

• Terry’s company hired a hearing-impaired, homeless man who had lost his wife and daughter, and he’s become an outstanding welder and employee. 66:54

faith

• Brady Auto asks Don and Terry how and when they each felt God’s calling to pursue a career in the outdoor industry. 55:18

family

• Terry plans to fly early Father’s Day morning to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to watch three of his daughter’s softball games before flying home. 83:54

food-plot-design

• Terry recalls the first mature Miscanthus tunnel food-plot design he saw Don implement was at friends Ray and Aiden’s property during the Remote Master Class. 80:00
• Nate Meinhardt asks why Don plants long narrow food plots along timber instead of traditional square or rectangular plots. 71:37

fruit-trees

• Don plans to plant more fruit trees next spring on his newly acquired 40 acres, applying what he learned about the nutrient approach. 13:32

herbicide-timing

• Don recommends spraying weeds while they’re actively growing rather than merely surviving, since actively growing weeds are more susceptible to herbicide. 28:31
• Don recommends spraying weeds when they’re six inches tall or less for a much better herbicide success rate. 35:01

hunter-spotlight

• Terry notes Joe Miles was hunting again in Texas, calling him a machine unlike anybody else he’s seen. 21:12

orchard

• Don observed one-year-old trees at Mike’s orchard already 10 feet tall, more than double their 4-foot height the prior year, using Mike’s growing approach. 8:53
• After the nutrition expert who developed the micronutrient product passed away, Mike struck a deal to sell it, marketing it as Mike’s Mighty Micros. 11:21
• Don recommends listeners follow Oak Hall Valley Orchard in Sullivan, Illinois to learn about the holistic growing approach. 10:44

orchard-visit

• Don says he learned more in the 24-hour period filming at the orchard than in any similar period in at least a decade. 4:51

personal-experience

• Terry recalls learning his wife had cancer when their daughter was about two and a half years old, and says his wife fully recovered. 24:32

personal-trivia

• Terry reveals he has never eaten a strawberry or a banana despite traveling the world extensively for business. 17:01

podcast-recommendation

• Terry recommends listeners check out the Mission Whitetail podcast for its different perspective on hunting many species. 21:46

prayer-request

• Don shares that listener Brian’s wife passed away after a battle with breast cancer, leaving Brian to raise their one-and-a-half-year-old son alone. 23:43

real-world

• Terry announces Real World is planning a large party and training session for all Real World dealers next year before peak season. 1:31
• Don announces the dealer event will be held March 4-5 next year with speakers, free meals, new product introductions, and educational sessions. 1:57
• Don explains dealers can pick up their spring order at the March meeting, timed to when most dealers place spring orders to save shipping costs. 2:36

soil-health

• Adam Babb asks about a Wired to Hunt podcast claim, citing Craig Harper’s research, that soil quality doesn’t necessarily equate to plant nutrient quality. 44:58

soybeans

• Don sprayed his corn and soybean plots this week with Mike’s Mighty Microbes, joking that any big Jack in the Beanstalk Real World Soybeans will be thanks to it. 15:11

surfactant

• Don explains a surfactant leaves a sticky residue that holds herbicide on the plant instead of letting it evaporate, making it far more effective. 37:33

tree-planting

• Terry asks whether Don is fully committed to the new tree-growing approach after seeing Mike’s orchard, or plans to test it first. 14:03

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 41:17

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks whether Don is fully committed to the new tree-growing approach after seeing Mike’s orchard, or plans to test it first. 14:03

• Answer: Don says he is completely sold and all in on the new approach after seeing the orchard results. 14:23

Question: Adam Babb asks about a Wired to Hunt podcast claim, citing Craig Harper’s research, that soil quality doesn’t necessarily equate to plant nutrient quality. 44:58 — asked by Adam Babb

• Answer: Don says the question’s timing was perfect given what he just saw at the orchard, and admits he doubts the claim. 45:28
• Answer: Don adds he can’t imagine a plant grown in richer, more nutrient-dense soil wouldn’t itself be more nutrient dense. 47:49

Question: William Miller asks whether it’s true that coyotes kill more mature bucks than fawns, as a veteran hunter told him. 49:27 — asked by William Miller

• Answer: Don flatly rejects the claim, saying coyotes are in no way killing more mature bucks than fawns. 49:46
• Answer: Don cites a trail-camera study showing coyotes brought back roughly 50 fawns, joking those same coyotes surely didn’t also kill 50 mature bucks. 50:35

Question: Brady Auto asks Don and Terry how and when they each felt God’s calling to pursue a career in the outdoor industry. 55:18 — asked by Brady Auto

• Answer: Don believes God placed his love of the outdoors in his heart before he was even born, and it never left, only growing over time. 59:59
• Answer: Terry believes God’s calling is for each person to use whatever platform they have to witness to others, rather than a calling to a specific hobby. 63:08

Question: Nate Meinhardt asks why Don plants long narrow food plots along timber instead of traditional square or rectangular plots. 71:37 — asked by Nate Meinhardt

• Answer: Don says there’s a deliberate method behind his long narrow plot design, not a random choice. 72:32
• Answer: Don explains a long narrow plot directs a deer’s movement in one general direction while it feeds. 73:19
• Answer: Terry frames the narrow plot as one tool to funnel deer past a huntable spot with good wind access, alongside terrain and bedding design. 76:57

Sponsors this episode

• Victory Chevrolet

Don recounted filming at Mike’s orchard, saying he learned more in that 24-hour period than in a decade, and described one-year-old trees already 10 feet tall using Mike’s growing approach. He plans to plant more fruit trees on his newly acquired 40 acres and had already sprayed his corn and soybean plots with Mike’s Mighty Microbes. Terry recommended Oak Hall Valley Orchard in Sullivan, Illinois. Don gave herbicide advice: spray weeds while actively growing, under six inches tall, and use a surfactant (or a cheap two-liter pop bottle) to hold herbicide on the plant. Listener questions covered whether soil quality affects plant nutrient quality, a claim that coyotes kill more mature bucks than fawns (which Don rejected, citing a trail-camera study), why Don uses long narrow food plots to funnel deer movement, and how each host felt called to the outdoor industry. Don also shared that listener Brian’s wife died of breast cancer, leaving him to raise their toddler son alone.

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.